The first phase will be held on April 11, second on April 18, third on April 23 and fourth on April 29, fifth on May 6, sixth on May 12 and seventh phase on May 19

Assembly elections will also be held simultaneously in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha elections will be held between April 11 and May 19 in seven phases and the counting of votes will take place on May 23, the Election Commission announced on Sunday. The term of the present Lok Sabha ends on June 3. Assembly elections will also be held simultaneously in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim, CEC Sunil Arora announced at a press conference in the national capital.

With the announcement of the poll schedule, the model code of conduct has come into force. Arora said all political advertisements on social media will need pre-certification. A meeting of election observers for the first and second phase of polling is likely to take place next week. Announcing the schedule for 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission said the ‘voter verifiable paper audit trail' (VVPAT) will be used in all polling stations this time.

The first phase will be held on April 11, second on April 18, third on April 23 and fourth on April 29, fifth on May 6, sixth on May 12 and seventh phase on May 19. The poll panel has held several review meetings across the country in the last few weeks to gear up its machinery. The required electronic voting machines and paper trail machines are in place to be deployed in nearly 10 lakh poling stations across 543 Lok Sabha constituencies.

As many as 90 crore electors, including 1.59 crore new voters aged 18-19 years, are registered to vote in the upcoming general election, though this number is likely to go up since additions to the electoral rolls can be made till the last day of filing of nomination. In 2014 rolls published ahead of Lok Sabha poll that year, there were a total of 81.45 crore voters enrolled at the time of announcement but the final figure, including service voters, stood higher at 83.4 crore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his bid to return to power in the upcoming election amid hectic parleys by several political parties to put a united fight against the ruling BJP. In 2004, the poll panel had announced four-phase Lok Sabha polls on February 29. While the first date of polling was April 20, the last date was May 10. In 2009, the EC had announced Lok Sabha poll schedule on March 2. The five-phase polls began on April 16 and ended on May 13. In 2014, the EC had announced the election schedule on March 5 and the nine-phase electoral exercise was spread across April and May. (With inputs from agencies) Read this story in MarathiWatch Lok Sabha polls to be held from April 11 to May 19, counting on May 23: EC